Sunset on the Nile
by 0oracle0
Summary: Bella has been turned, but leaves Edward due to his regret for changing her. When she reaches her destination and meets someone, who not even the Volturi know of, what will happen?
1. Prolouge

Prologue

Road after road, it was an endless maze, but I didn't care where I was going, where I was headed. It didn't matter I was gone. The ghastly neon headlights of my truck glared out ahead of me illuminating the road in front of me. I could hardly make out the street because the rain was starting to blur my eyesight. Suddenly I slammed down on the brake and got out of the car. I just stood there in the rain, dry-sobbing, why couldn't I cry just once more in my life? There was one thing I used to love about the rain; no one could see my tears but now it didn't matter.

"Why did I leave Edward," the hole in my chest seemed to be asking as it slowly increased in size.

"Because," replied my conscience, "You couldn't take his regret. The regret for helping you to become what you had always hoped for."

Standing there in the rain, my heart ached, my mind screamed and I collapsed dry-sobbing in the middle of the road.


	2. Waiting and Leaving

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 1

I slumped down in the hard, plastic chair . . . waiting. That is all I ever seemed to do was wait. First it was waiting for him to finally agree with me. Then it was waiting for it to be over. When I woke it was waiting for his regret and self-blame to go away for helping become what I had dreamed of since I met him. Now it is waiting for my mind to catch up with my actions and go home to my father and, I winced at my thoughts, Edward. But, I couldn't stand the waiting anymore. _That is why you are here_, I reminded myself.

People stared as they passed me. I probably looked quite strange. I now had a perfect face, a perfect body. What most girls wanted, yet I was wearing sagging clothes and was completely soaked from the rain I had sat in.

I had thought that being a vampire would entitle you to unlimited amount energy yet I was completely drained and I wished for sleep to take me. After I had sat in the downpour I had gotten back into my truck, with the remains of my collage fund still in my pocket and any other money I could use without feeling guilty, which amounted to quite a lot. Unfortunately, most of the money from my collage fund was put in by _him _so, of course, there had been more in there then I could even hope to imagine.

Then I had drove for six hours to reach Sea Tac airport, to tired and distracted to care about turning on the heater to dry out my dripping clothes. There I bought a ticket to Cairo, where some university _he _had applied me to was. Why Cairo? I had no idea. Maybe he was just desperate to find a collage that would accept me. _Or trying to get you as far away as possible_ something inside me said. This time I had to remind myself that I was the one that left this time. That thought just made the hole in my chest grow even larger, knowing that I had been the one to harm myself this time and I could currently be laying in my bed with _his _cold, granite arms wrapped around me had I not made this decision.

I sighed and pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my head on my knees. I knew that the mud from my shoes was getting on the chairs and would probably end up on my jeans but I didn't care at all right now. Why can't things just work out? I wondered to myself. Why can't everybody understand each other and except the decisions that they make for themselves?

_"Now boarding for Cairo, Egypt."_ The annoyingly cheerful voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I lumbered onto the plane. I did not have any luggage and the only thing I had on me besides my clothing was my money. So with my clothes and pocket full of money I headed on to the plane.

As I walked down the aisle filled with people I saw business men trying to get rid of the person on the other end of their phone that was the latest addition from every company. They made their money and would go on their way. Most of them were young. I knew that someday they would leave and find a new job that did not take up as much for the new people they had let into their life.

Not many children were on these flights but the ones that were looked like they were from Egypt and that they were headed home. Back to the comfort and the place they had grown up in. As children they didn't have too much to worry about. They did have school, family, and friends. But they didn't have to worry about how they were going to survive, where they were going to stay at night, and other things that I now had to worry about. _You wouldn't have to worry about those things if you had stayed_. That voice was really getting annoying, and it was constantly making the hole grow even larger if that was possible. It was too late to turn back. So I sat down in my seat which, luckily, was next an older, grandmother like figure who smiled kindly at me when I sat down. I tried to return my smile but my face felt stuck from the moisture that had dried on my face.

As soon as I sat down I zoned out, the closest thing I could do to sleep, trying not to think about what problems lay ahead when the plane landed.

**M'kay, what do you guys think so far? Now I personally love stories with play lists so we just had to add some songs.**

**Play list:**

**Mr. Brightside- Killers**

**Over My Head- The Fray**

**Seventeen- Ladytron**

**Subterranean Homesick Alien- Radiohead**

**Lover I Don't Have to Love- Bright Eyes**


	3. Getting Settled

Disclaimer: Do not own Twilight.

Chapter 2

The constant drone of the engines lured me into a dark void and soon the lurch of the landing plane snapped me out of my haze. I stared out the grimy window at the endless sands of Egypt that blew past the glass. People walked down the isle of the plane and into the airport. I followed the crowds not knowing where to go.

"First, I need to find an apartment," I thought wearily to myself.

Stopping at the Starbucks, I ordered a 6 shots on ice. Right now I needed the caffeine. Even if I wasn't supposed to eat human food it tasted quite good to me. Sipping the rejuvenating drink I grabbed the _Cairo Post _sitting on the stand next to me. I opened to the advertisement page and started walking to the exit. Absorbed in my scanning I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," I mumbled and walked off. Then I found what I was looking for, a cheep apartment that didn't look to rundown. Following the directions that I gleaned from a passerby I found the tall white building. As I walked down the street I remembered that I was supposed to be sparkling in the hot sun glittering in the periwinkle sky. Made completely out of some white stone it loomed overhead creating a long shadow. A little garden display and palm trees waved in front of the door. I walked into the lobby and was relieved to feel the air conditioning. I stopped at the front desk and rang the silver desk bell. Instantly a little old lady wobbled out of the back room.

"Ello," said the woman kindly, "Is there anythin I can do for ya missy."

"Um, yes I would like to rent a room," I replied uncertainly.

"Of course, of course! Room 17, up the stairs and to the right. It is one of the few that are still available." the elderly lady said instantly.

"Wait," I paused, "do I need to sign anything?"

"No, no!"

"How much a month?"

She looked me up and down. "75 American dollars," she answered shortly. "You are American, aren't you missy?" Her eyes narrowed, trying to tell if I was lying or not.

"O-of course! I just came from the airport." I responded lightly.

"Oh ok!" she responded suddenly cheerful.

"Umm, I suppose I'll go look at the room," I stuttered as I walked up the heavily carpeted stairs.

I reached the second floor and I couldn't stop staring at the amazing paintings and pottery that decorated the tan wall. I turned a corner and saw the door to my new room. Taking a deep breath I took out the rusty key from my pocket and opened the wooden door. The door creaked open and revealed a tiny, white-walled apartment. Stepping into the blindingly white kitchen I admired the spotless kitchen appliances and the black tiled floor. On the ceiling was a naked light bulb that hung as if forgotten. I walked into the next room with a large window that revealed a quaint street bustling with activity. The small furniture store next to the picturesque café, caught my eye. Forgetting about the remaining two rooms of my apartment I walked outside into the sunlight letting the warm rays soak up my dreariness. I hurried across the street and into the small store. I was instantly charmed by the antique look of everything. My eye was drawn to the big potted palm tree standing in the entrance way. I walked further in and admired the statues.

Turning a corner I found an old looking bed covered in silky linens. The old mahogany wood was cracked in several places and the linens were a shocking weave of pink, green, and gold threads. Seeing that it was the only bed in the store I felt inclined to buy it. I looked at the price tag and amazingly both the bed and the linens were surprisingly cheap. After the find of that one purchase, the normally inactive shopping part of my brain sprang into action and I found myself on a large shopping spree. I found a matching dresser and lamp. For the room with the large window I got a dark blue loveseat, a cracked vase (it was the only thing cheep enough), and a bamboo coffee table. For the kitchen I contented myself with an ancient table and two miniature stools.

Going back up the stairs to my apartment I was followed by four burly guys carrying my new bed and table. Soon after their departure I lugged up the rest of the furniture with my now vampire like strength. Then I remembered _him, _my happiness suddenly drained out of me as if sucked by a leech. I collapsed on the new bed and lay there dry-sobbing, wishing the tears to come. Soon I was zoning out and my head was filled with memories.

**The next chapter is exciting! Pictures will be posted for the next chapter as well.**

**Music:**

**Hold Tight London- Chemical Brothers**

**President of What?- Death Cab for Cutie**

**Heaven Forbid- The Fray**

**Top of the World- All American Rejects**

**Review please and tell us how we are doing, flames, and suggestions, whatever.**


	4. The Coffee Shop

Disclaimer: We **do not** own Twilight.

Chapter 3

My eyes snapped open to a blinding light streaming through the windows. I squinted and blinked a couple of times, looking around. Since when is Forks sunny? I silently asked myself. Then the events of the past few days caught up with me.

I groaned and sat up. Then I stretched and looked around my small bedroom that I had prepared for myself yesterday. It was small and quaint, but I liked it.

I headed out the door with the same clothes as the past two days still on me. The moisture had dried and made the clothes stiff. I ran down the stairs of the apartment building until I hit the first floor, where I had seen a couple of small shops yesterday. The one I remembered the most clearly was a small coffee shop, so I headed over there. Maybe, if I was lucky, I could get a job there. That would be very convenient, to work and live in the same building. I wouldn't have to leave the air conditioning and go out in the blazing sunlight.

I wound my way through the halls with doors entering into the small shops on both sides of me. At the end of the second hall I went down, I saw the label of the coffee shop on the glass door. I opened the door.

The interior of the coffee shop was comfy and yet kind of dark. It looked very artsy. There were blue shades on the windows that would normally look onto the street if they weren't covered. The door that led into the coffee shop from the street was also covered with a dark blue shade. The shades looked like paper, and it matched the theme of the coffee shop.

The room that it was in was square and two walls that faced each other were dark purple. The other two were murals of a street that looked like it was somewhere nearby. The ceiling was painted as if it was a night sky, with stars and consolations. There were a couple of medium sized chandeliers that hung down from the high ceiling. The lighting wasn't to great, the chandeliers were dimmed, but sudden bursts of light would erupt every time someone opened the door from outside.

There were only a couple of tables with painted, wooden chairs surrounding them in the center of the coffee shop. Around the sides were arm chairs arranged differently for different gatherings of people. The counter took up one wall. The counter was low, so you could see people making your drinks, and there were little stools where people could sit which aliened the counter.

I walked over to the counter and stood there waiting for a moment. Then I was approached by an elderly man who looked like he just wanted to leave. As he sauntered over to where I was sitting and stopped, waiting for me to order.

"Can I get four shots on ice?" I needed something with caffeine, which I had found to work yesterday even if it was supposed to taste disgusting. I handed over the money.

The man just grunted, took the money, and walked away. I sighed.

"Crappy costumer service," I muttered under my breath. Then the thought of getting a job here struck me again. I would try to be nicer so people wouldn't be saying that about me.

I sat there, on my stool, tracing lines in the wood and listened to the people in the coffee shop. Every time someone opened the door a little bell would tinkle, and not the loud, obnoxious ringing or an automatic beeper thing, but a nice little bell that reminded you of the spring time. There was a magazine sitting on a little coffee table, so I got up to get it while I waited. In was written in the native language that people used here. I sat down and began to wonder what everything said.

I heard someone approaching me from behind the counter. Then I heard a, "Here you go." And I reached out to grab my drink. But, me being me, and also considering I wasn't looking, I hit the drink with the back of my hand and made dump all over whoever had handed it to me.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" I practically shouted.

"It's quite all right, it's quite all right." I looked up at my victim to find it was not the same grumpy old man as before. I currently couldn't see his face because he was wiping coffee off of him self but when he did, he looked to be around my own age.

He smirked at me and said, "You know, now you owe me, seeing as this is the second time in the past . . . oh, I think about twenty- four hours, that you have been the cause of something bumping into me."

"Ex-excuse me?" I wondered out loud.

"Well, you didn't just think you bumped into air or something in the airport the other day did you?" he questioned, and his smirk was still on his face. I looked at him, horrified, wondering how he could fall prey to me klutziness twice so quickly.

"Oh! I really am sorry! I-I could pay you again for the drink!" I stumbled over my words trying to think of what he meant when he said that I now "owed him."

"Well, that wasn't quite what I had in mind." He said, his smirk was even more evident now, with a hint of smugness in it.

I mentally groaned. This guy better not want a date or something because of that. I looked him up and down, he certainly did not look like the kind of guy who would ask me of something like that, but you can never be sure.

He was pale, with black hair that kind of fell into his eyes. He was moderately tall, but not menacing at all. He had blue eyes, and snake bites. No, not the kind of guy at all to ask me out. He was studying my expression, the he chuckled quietly.

"No, I am not asking you out or anything if that is what you are so worried about sweetheart." That stupid smirk was still on his face. "But you will have to answer a few questions." He remarked.

"Such as," I prompted. I really was not in the mood for questioning.

"Why are you, clearly an American here in Cairo, in a very non- touristy kind of a place coffee shop with seemingly no rush to get out and see all of the tourist sites?" He watched me in amusement and waited for my answer.

"I-I moved here." I said sighing, not wanting to spill and personal information.

"You had no luggage yesterday." He reminded me. God, this guy did not seem to want to give up, and he was observant which made things worse.

"Well, just because I moved here doesn't mean I have to bring anything with me!" I snapped back.

"Parents sent you here?" Stupid smug, smirk was still there.

"No!" I said confidently.

"Ran away?" He questioned

Pause, "N-no." Confidence was lost from my voice.

"Getting away from boy friend?" This time not only had his smirk widened but he raised his eyebrows and looked at me like I was a complete idiot.

Instead of answering I groaned and put my head on the counter.

"Ready to stop prying into other people's business?" I muttered into the table.

This time he laughed loudly and I could hear the turn of a couple of people's heads. I looked up and glared at him.

"Well, this question isn't as prying. Why are in this coffee shop?" He asked.

"I need a job." I wished now more than ever that I could punch him and wipe that stupid grin off of his face.

"You're hired!" He said brightly. I looked at him in confusion.

"I thought I was supposed to get interviewed or something, and get hired by the manager." I commented.

"Well, first of all the manager is almost never here and he doesn't really care. He comes once a month to check on how we are doing and see if anyone new has been hired. But, the good news is I am the co-manager or in other words I am in charge when he isn't here. So . . . I just hired you!"

"Fine," I muttered.

"You start tomorrow, be here at seven and I am not sure what time you will get off but we will figure that out tomorrow."

"Thank you, I am going to leave now, so I will see you tomorrow, I guess." I said standing up.

"Wait," He said quickly. "I didn't catch your name missy."

"Isabella Swan. I didn't catch your either." I said while walking backwards.

"Yakov Yafai." I sighed as I walked away.

He was still smiling.

**Well, things are getting just got more interesting. You can find pictures of Yakov on my profile, and I suggest you look at them if you didn't get his appearance, I know some people that do not know what snake bites are. Anyways, review, review, review. Feel free to share ideas, suggestions, whatever.**

**Play list: (Short , we couldn't think of many songs)**

**Someday You Will Be Loved- Death Cab for Cutie **

**Funky Town- Lipps Inc.**


	5. More People

Chapter 4

I walked back up to my apartment and fell back onto my couch and stared out the window watching people walking to and fro. Smiling to myself I said Yakov's name to myself over and over again. It most definitely had a nice ring to it.

"_Just like Edward Cullen,"_ said that annoying voice in my head.

Angry with myself for remembering _him _I stood up and kicked the couch without thinking. The couch flew backward and hit my new table which fell over and smacked the wall with a loud bang. I winced and walked over to the mess. Just as I was about to pick up the couch and move it back to where it belonged, someone knocked on my door. I opened it up to reveal a young woman with dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and a slender face. She was smiling a beaming smile and holding a healthy looking baby.

"Hello," she said cheerfully, "Can I please ask you not to make such a ruckus. The neighbors next to me were complaining. Oh and I'm Olive. I'm right next door to you."

I smiled weakly, I couldn't believe that people heard that two doors down. I really had to watch myself.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again. Would you like to come in?" the annoying part of my brain needed to make human acquaintances.

"Sure!"

She smiled and walked in but instantly her smile disappeared.

"What happened here?!" Olive exclaimed.

"Nothing of too much importance," I answered meekly.

"I won't pry but I say that this place needs some fixing up and you need to get into cleaner clothing," she said sternly, a motherly look coming about her as she looked me up and down.

"This is all I have," I replied earnestly.

"I'm taking you shopping," Olive said a determined look coming onto her face as she grabbed my wrist and pulled me out the door.

Deciding it was best to keep quiet about my dislike of shopping I let Olive pull me around and buy clothing in the street market. It was amazing really, she was able to shop, talk, and hold a baby at the same time, she was the perfect multi-tasker. It seemed as though she had been taking people out of there apartments and making them shop for a long time. After the shopping whirl had ended we started chatting, I found myself telling her about _him_, well excluding that he was a blood-sucking vampire and that I was one too. She had a look of sympathy about her and she soothed me, as if she knew that I didn't want to stay on this topic, she started talking about her own family.

The baby was a girl and her name was Honey. She had large brown eyes wisps of golden-brown hair. Olive was married to an Egyptian native she had met at a small university in Holland, Olive's home country. His name was Gabriel and worked as a business man, in fact we had been on the same flight. Returning back to the apartment with 6 shots on ice, Olive, and Honey, I felt contented for the first time since I had last kissed _him_. Slowly my hole was growing smaller but I still ached inside when I thought of the last moment I had spent with him. I cowered away from those thoughts and went to the café and decided I would talk to Yakov for a little while about my new job which I was starting tomorrow. Although I had found him a bit annoying earlier, I realized that I really couldn't wait to see him again.

**Even more heat and action! Dun, dun, dun, dun! Well, what do you guys' think of Yakov and Olive?**


	6. A Conversation

**Disclaimer: Do not own Twilight! **

** AN: I am so terribly sorry I haven't posted this chapter! First my computer completely broke down for a couple of days, then we had this huge project in geography (my worst subject) due, then my power cord broke and I couldn't use my computer. sigh Now it is almost the end of the trimester so we're going to have finals, but we will continue the story. My friend, who is also writing the story, seems to somehow have more time on her hands so the next chapter shouldn't take too, too long. If you haven't noticed already we alternate chapters, she wrote the prologue, I wrote chapter one so on so forth.**

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Chapter 5

I made my way down the stairs and went through the hallways I had walked through just a few hours ago. I stopped in front of the door that led into the coffee shop but went in after a few seconds. There were still quite a few people in the shop. There were some what looked like collage students in the corner doing homework. There were a few groups of elder people who were talking and relaxing on their lunch break. My eyes wondered around the room, everyone looked so happy with their friends and some with their loved ones.

I sighed, and wondered 'Where would I be right now if I was still with Edward, or if I was still human?'

I didn't get to finish my zoning out session because I was interrupted by a very loud, "Hey Izzy!" coming from across the room. I groaned if I were human I would be blushing. Yakov stood there, rag in hand, and was smiling obnoxiously at me.

I slowly shuffled to the counter and plopped down, his eyes following me and his smile never wavering. When I sat down he just stood there for a moment before he started talking.

"So Izzy, watcha' doing here? You aren't hired till tomorrow, however eager you are to start the job, I just can't make an exception to the rule," he said, while looking down and wiping off the back counter. He looked up and I rolled my eyes and allowed a small smile to appear on my face.

"To tell you the truth I had nothing better to do, so I decided to come here."

"You don't have any friends or anything to hang out with? I mean if you were running away, leaving your boyfriend or whatever, I would think you would at least plan how to make it somewhere else. Therefore having someone you know in the area might help. Huh sweetheart?" His obnoxious smile had changed to his stupid, little, smug smirk as he stared at me, intent on knowing how I would answer.

"Well . . . sometimes people just can't think that far in advance, you know? Sometimes things come up so quickly that your brain doesn't have time to process what's going on, or what you are going to do in your situation. You just kind of . . . go." I said staring fixedly at the table. I looked up and saw Yakov frowning down at me. He then sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the other side of the counter, now eyelevel with me.

"It is not good to run away, eventually your problems will come back to bite." I snorted.

"You have no idea." I murmured.

He frowned but continued. "You should face your problems. They may hurt but they will only hurt more if you leave 'm and come back later." He paused and I used that silence to put a few words in edgewise.

"Well, what if it isn't your problem but someone else's problem that happens to directly affect you and everything that happens in life. Would if this problem had a major impact on your life, had recently been solved but then the measures to solve it were regrettable to others." I didn't care that I may have said too much, that I spilled to much personal information, but I had lost it. Somehow I was crying, right now I didn't really care, I just brushed at them angrily, the thought that I was supposed to be able to cry not accruing to me.

I looked up, and Yakov was studying me as if he was searching for something, but he was a complete stranger. He hardly knew anything about me. I knew he defiantly wasn't a vampire so he couldn't be studying me to see if I was or not.

The tears kept flowing and I laid my head down on the counter. I felt a hand lay on my back and rub circles that were supposed to sooth me, but it just reminded me of how _he_ would be one the one rubbing my back in any other situation. I took deep breaths and tried to calm myself. I lifted my head a little and wiped the tears away inhaling deeply. The hand didn't go away but rested on my back.

I looked to the seat next to me and saw Yakov sitting there a small sad smile on his face. I gave him a half- hearted smile back and looked back down at the counter.

"Wh-" he began but was interrupted by my cell phone ringing. I quickly picked it up and cursed myself for not having caller ID. Whoever it was was defiantly someone I didn't want to talk to but I figured I should probably just answer it.

"Hello." I answered. My voice sounded harsh even to me own ears.

"Bella," I knew immediately it was him. He sounded broken and pained but my anger and remembering of what he had been like before I left hit me and I did not feel any pity.

"Bella," he whispered again. The hand on my back had disappeared and I looked up to see him frowning at me. He could obviously hear Edward on the other end.

"Please come home." He whispered. "We don't know where you are Bella. Are you safe? Where are you? Ho-" I cut him off.

"Edward, you do not need to know any of that. I am fine but I am _not _coming back home."

"Please, Bella."

"Edward, I couldn't take it back there anymore. I am sorry but I just couldn't. Now you should probably go and stop wasting time talking to me. I need to get going anyway Edward."

"Bella, please come home. We can fix whatever the matter is, I don't know what it is but we can fix it. We have gone through what must be much worse situations and we made it through. Bella, I need you to come home and be with me, with my family. I can't stand not even knowing where you are!"

I sighed into the phone, "Edward I need to go, goodbye."

"Don't go." He whispered.

"Goodbye Edward."

"I love you."

"I-" but I stopped myself, it would just cause him more pain and me a harder time to leave all this behind. I just quickly and quietly hung up, biting my lip to keep the tears from coming. I closed my eyes and inhaled, swallowing all the tears. I opened my eyes and looked back at Yakov.

"Boyfriend, huh?" He smiled lightly.

"Not anymore."

I peeked back up at him. He stared at me, frowning again but then stood up and returned to behind the counter. He wiped the counter in silence for a couple of minutes. I watched him closely, wondering what to expect next.

"When-" Interrupted again.

"Yakov!" I booming voice said.

We both turned out heads to see a couple of boys, who looked to be our age, entering the coffee shop.

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**I think this is the longest chapter yet but I am not sure. Anywaya, unfortunatly no playlist. Review, review, review. Please for some of you you know I review for your stories so can you review for mine too? Yay! Oh, I can not update at all over the long weekend, cause it is my birthday, my baby cousin is due any day now, my dad is getting surgery and I have all the homewrok because of the end of the trimester. Not fun so , ya. Review!**

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	7. Revealing Ones Self

Disclaimer: We do not own Twilight.

Chapter 6

I stared at the two boys who walked into the room and sat down to my left side. The one with black hair in front of one of his raven eyes and an ear full of piercings hugged Yakov over the counter. The other guy just stood there slightly smiling hands in his pockets.

"Hey Yakov, can I have a vente latte?" the guy standing asked in a soft voice.

"Sure thing, Gabe!" Yakov answered the brown-haired guy.

"Who's she?" inquired the black eyed boy.

"A new employ," Yakov said vaguely his face darkening slightly.

I just stared with interest my mind wincing away from the memory of the phone ringing. Then my body made its decision.

"Yakov," I said quietly.

"Huh," he said filling up the vente cup with latte.

I felt the other guys' gazes on my back as I took out my cell phone from my pocket.

"Please throw this away for me."

Yakov nodded in understanding picked up the cell from my hand and threw it in a trash can behind the counter. It landed on the bottom with a metallic clang that I was sure to remember the rest of my life.

"What the hell was that about?!" nearly screamed the black eyed boy.

"Calm down Kahn, you don't even know the girl's name, leave her alone," said Gabe.

Kahn muttered something about shitty goody-goodies and traced the designs on the counter with his finger. Gabe just chuckled and sipped from his latte.

"So what are you doing here?" inquired Yakov washing some of the dishes in the utility sink.

"What? Are we not aloud to visit our friend?" said Kahn perking up from his seemingly sullen mood.

"Don't give me that crap," laughed Yakov, "We both know that you wouldn't get up off your lazy bum to come see your mother working!"

"Ok, fine, be that way," sulked Kahn.

Gabe just watched the two bickerers with calm amusement seemingly used to the banter.

Turning to me, Gabe smiled slightly and sat down in the empty chair next to me.

"What brings you here, you're not native."

"Neither are you," I countered.

"True."

"Well really, I'm just here to start a new life."

Gabe nodded with sympathy though something in his chocolate eyes suggested empathy.

"You notice a lot," Gabe said quietly.

I was quickly jerked out of my thoughts and I stared at Gabe accusingly. His uncanny ability to tell what I was thinking reminded me to much of _him_. Gabe stiffened and trying to hide his new instability stroke up more conversation.

"What's you name?"

"Bella. What's it to you?"

"Just curious."

"Hmmm," was my only reply.

"Where have you met Yakov before?"

"I just got a job here."

"Interesting."

I stared at him quizzically trying to get where he was headed with this conversation but he got a deep philosophical look about him and closed his eyes trying to think.

"Where did you meet Yakov?"

"Several years ago at the collage."

"Why are you here now?"

Gabe's eyes popped open with surprise, he seemed to think that I wouldn't ask such a question.

"None of your business."

"It was never any of your business to come and sit down by me."

He sighed and got up from the chair, "Kahn we need to go."

"Huh! Why? I was just starting to tell Yakov why donkeys are WAY better than bunnies!"

"Kahn just come along," growled Gabe dragging Kahn out the door with strength that I could not guess he possessed. My eyes followed them out the door only to turn back to a troubled Yakov.

**What do you guys think? Review, review, review!**


	8. Cell Phone

**Disclaimer: Do not own Twilight.**

**Yay! We are updating! We have finals or exams or what ever you call them this week so I amnot sure how long it will take for the next chapter. Probably not as long as this one I will tell you that. Anyways, thanks!**

Chapter 7

As soon as the light tinkling of the bell died down after Gabe and Kahn walked out the door Yakov turned to me, with a mixture of confusion and humor on his face.

"What did you say to Gabe?" He questioned, a bright smile forming on his face as he spoke. Apparently he was amused with the uneasiness of his friend.

"Nothing." I answered briefly, my fingers tracing the knots in the glazed wood that made up the counter. I looked back up when I heard him begin to talk again.

Yakov's face had twisted back into his obnoxious grin. "Nothing, huh? Come on, you must have said something to him. He looked pretty ticked off when he left."

I sighed, "Fine. He was questioning me. I answered but I asked him one, little question and he won't answer."

Yakov chuckled, "Sometimes Gabe likes to keep to himself, don't blame for it. He has his reasons, just like you have your reasons for not answering certain questions about your past."

I glared at him. He made his face straight and looked at me with an eyebrow raised, as if questioning my sanity.

"Ugh, stop it." I buried my face in my hands.

"Then stop glaring at me," he chuckled.

A customer walked up to the counter further down. Yakov left to go help them.

The coffee machines beeped and buzzed as Yakov got people their drinks. People were chatting all over the room. In the corner there were some elderly men who looked as if they were natives. They were speaking in what I assumed to be Egyptian, but I wasn't quite sure. All of a sudden they all through back their heads and laughed at something one of them had said. In the opposite corner there were students from the only college around, the university. Their fingers rattled against the keys as they typed for some assignment. One would occasionally reach down and ruffle through their papers then pull the one they had been looking for out of their bag. Solitary people were scattered around the coffee shop. The door tinkled, and I looked over as a couple walked through the door and looked around conversing together to agree on where to sit.

Over all this noise I heard a rattling, a sort of buzzing noise. Without shifting my body I turned my gaze to the trash can in which my cell phone had been disposed of minutes ago. The trash can was vibrating ever so slightly but enough for me to notice. I could here my cell phone clattering against the bottom as it vibrated. I stood up and leaned over the counter and looked in. Sure enough there was my cell phone moving across the bottom of the waste basket. I slumped back down on my stool with a sigh, letting my head rest in my crossed arms.

I heard rustling near me and looked up only to find Yakov peeking down at the cell phone. Apparently he had heard it too. He turned to me and smirked.

"Yakov," I warned not quite sure what he was planning.

Then he reached down quickly, grabbed the cell phone and opened it before I could object.

"Hello?" He answered a wide smile plastered on his face. My eyes widened in horror just imagining if it could be Edward, Charlie, Jacob, or even my mom could try calling me. I shuddered as different scenarios flew through my head depending on which one of these people was on the phone.

Yelling could be heard through the phone. It was a female's voice, but it wasn't my moms. My eyebrows furrowed as I concentrated on the voice.

"Wait, one second." Yakov interrupted the person. I couldn't make out what was being said on the other end of the line anymore, the volume of their voice had died down.

"No, I'm not. She is right here."

Pause.

"Sheesh, don't have to get snappy. Here she is." He stretched his arm over the counter with my cell phone lying in his hand. I looked down at it but refused to take it. He moved it closer to me but I just stared at it. He sighed and held the phone up to my ear.

"H-hello?" I questioned, my voice was shaky.

"Bella! Where the hell are you?! Who was on the phone?! Oh, never mind that! Are you trying to make Edward go and off himself or is it just me?! Huh? You need to come right now!" It was Alice.

"Alice," O began but was rudely cut off.

"Don't 'Alice' me! Where are you?! You need to come home!"

"No, Alice. Edward is not going to off himself, seeing as I am currently alive. I am not coming home and it is none of your business as to where I am!" I said harshly.

There was a pause. "Bella," Alice whimpered. Her voice sounded broken. I didn't mean to sound so mean, Alice hadn't done anything wrong.

"I' m sorry Alice, it's just I had to leave."

"Why Bella?" Alice sounded a little peppier but she was still whispering.

"Edward was regretting _my_ decision for _my_ life. He wasn't respecting it. I can't live like that Alice, having someone I love so much regretting what is pretty much my life. So, I am some where new starting over again. I am sorry Alice. I will miss you terribly much."

"Oh," Alice paused. "I will miss you too Bella."

"You're letting me go?!" I questioned surprised.

"Bella, you're my best friend, well more of a sister. Do what makes you happy. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you to Alice." I was starting to break down. A few tears ran down my cheeks and I sniffled. Naturally, it was harder saying good- bye to some who you weren't angry at.

"Maybe I will see you again some day." I heard a muffled sob over the phone. "Good-bye Bella"

"Tell everyone I will miss them and I love them."

"M'kay."

"Good-bye Alice."

"Good-bye Bella."

The phone went dead.

**What did you think? We will keep writing if you keep reviewing**. **We actually aren't getting enough reviews so we may stop writing but are not sure. Review if you want us to keep writing.**


	9. Something I Will Regret

**Disclamier: We do not own Twilight.**

**This chapter is really short and we apologize, but it was the best place my friend could find to end this chapter and then she got all excited about it. The next chapter is either going to be really long (and I do mean _long,_ hopefully) or two medium length chapters. I hope you like it, and thanks for the reviews. Oh and if you have any suggestions you can tell us.**

Chapter 8

Dry sobbing I laid my head down in my hands. I wished for the millionth time that I could cry. I just wanted the tears to fall. Yakov watched with concerned silence as the sobs racked my body. I then felt a soothing hand rub my back in circular motions. My sobs calmed down and it just turned to hiccupping.

"Are you ok?" Yakov whispered close to my ear, his breath tickling my cheek.

I closed my eyes and just nodded my head. He backed away and still kept the hand on my back.

"Your interesting, Izzy."

I stared up at him as he started to bustle around and clean off dishes. I watched a little longer as he helped several costumers and ground coffee. I closed my eyes and let the darkness dull my senses. I just listened and let the small sounds of the kitchen calm me. Then I felt the hand on my back again and I opened my eyes a crack. I saw Yakov staring down at me with a look of concern, but as he noticed my open eyes, his trademark smirk reappeared.

"Your different then you appear," he commented, "Hey, how about after you get off work tomorrow I'll show you around the city."

I looked up at him in confusion, several thoughts running through my head. Without realizing what I was doing my mouth opened up and said one word I was sure to regret.

"Yes."


	10. Colors

**Disclaimer- Why would anyone think that we own Twilight?! If we did, the writing would probably suck! Therefore it all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Ok anyways, you know how the author of this story (I'm going to be calling her Phia from now on) was writing this story with a friend, well I'm the friend, and Phia seems to not write anymore so its going to be just me from now on…I'm sorry if I've disappointed anyone but your going to have to deal .**

Chapter 9

I walked back up to my room in a daze, unwilling to believe that I had actually said yes to Yakov's proposal. As I sat down on my bed, I started to contemplate everything that had happened to me, from the bite, to the café and Yakov. I shot up, suddenly realizing that I could not truly be a vampire. I didn't sparkle, I could cry, and at least caffeine tasted good.

Then my mind started turning, trying to come up with explanations, possibilities. Then it all clicked, each vampire had their own power maybe just maybe I was too human to be a vampire. I curled up in a ball and let the void take over my mind.

Light streamed from the window and played across the bright threads of my bed sheets. I groaned as I smelt the aroma of bacon and pancakes waft through the open door of my bedroom. I tumbled out of bed and crawled into the living room and adjoining kitchen. The back of Olive's bobbing head and apron, bustled in front of the stove and cooking food.

"Umm, excuse me. How did you get in here?" I asked, slightly bewildered.

"Huh, oh, good morning, you're finally up! Well if I must say so myself, having a walking toddler tall enough to reach locks, teaches one the art of picking locks in a way nothing else can!"

I just stared at her and watched as she plopped the steaming bacon and pancakes onto my plate and picked up Honey who was standing at her side, holding onto her frilly apron. Honey cooed and chortled as her mom bounced her up in the air and placed her in a high chair that I didn't see in the beginning. Honey grabbed at the plastic fork and stabbed at the small, cut up pieces of her food. Olive sat in the remaining stool and smiled her warm friendly smile, her rosy cheeks turning even rounder.

"How are things going for you? Have any plans for the day?"

"Actually, I found myself a job."

"Oh so soon! That's great! Where are you working?"

"At the café downstairs, the really artsy, kind of dark one."

"You're working with Yakov?"  
"You know him?"

"Of course! Everyone who lives here knows him. He is the one who keeps everything going; he was the one who recommended the remodeling. You should have seen this place before he came; it was one hell hole, run down and everything. Of course the rent was cheaper but the rats and cockroaches weren't so great either. Actually I really only knew him after I did the murals in the café."

"You did those? I love them, their beautiful," talking to Olive was so easy the words just slid out of my mouth like oil. She was helping me heal the hole in my chest, making me hopeful that I could just forget it all.

"Thanks. Well you better get to work, but I recommend before you do that, you might want to get changed."

I nodded my head and said goodbye as she grabbed Honey and the high chair and walked out of the door. I stood up out of the chair and pulled out some jeans and a dark green t-shirt with the words "If there's a fountain of youth, it has caffeine in it" from my drawer. Putting them on, I quickly tied my newly silky hair into a ponytail and ran out the front door.

The tinkling of the silver bell announced my arrival in the café. Early risers were already there sipping their lattes and one middle school aged kid gulped a mocha and then ran out the door.

"Izzy, good morning," a cheerful voice called as Yakov came in from the back door in a black apron and the signature rag in hand.

I just groaned and asked what I was going to be doing for the rest of the day, instead of replying in words he just smirked and moved me behind the corner and posted me by the cashier.

The day pasted in a blur, the costumers flew in and out. Yakov carried on witty conversation without my side of it. Which was good enough for me because it left me time to think, but then I realized Yakov's voice had gone silent.

I glanced up at his face but then I noticed something different instead of his eyes being the normally robin's egg blue, his eyes had turned a chilling purple.

"Yakov, why are your eyes purple, aren't they blue?" I asked confused and slightly frightened my mind knowing that there was something more behind this than what appeared on the surface.

"Huh what are you talking about?" he asked instantly.

Then I gasped, his eyes shifted, they flashed, and turned from the purple in the blue, I had seen before.

"Maybe it was time you got off from work and we go on our tour," he said quietly a new steeliness applied onto his voice.

**MWAHAHAHAHA!! Because I'm evil (or I could just be tired I don't know) I'm going to leave it here….I will try and add more as soon as possible though I can't promise anything cause its finals this week…OH JOY note sarcasm anyways I'll update as soon as possible.**

**-This is a note from the person who posted chapterr 9, in otherwords the other author. So I did start writing this chapter quite recently but now this one is posted. I will be contributing to the story, maybe not as often as the other author though. Anyways . . . REVIEW!  
**


	11. The Tour

**Disclaimer: WE DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT! **

**Chapter 10**

The tinkling of the bell in the door way rang as Yakov and I walked out into the outside world. I was blinded momentarily, but my eyes focused suddenly, much faster then I had been used to as a human. The contrast of light between the coffee shop and the street was enough to make any human blind for at least a couple of minutes. It was amazing; the new senses of my vampire self. They would definitely take quite a while to get used to.

I looked over at Yakov who was blinking rapidly. I watched his eyes turn purple and then they faded into the normal blue. It should be at least a minute before his eyes adjusted. My suspicions began to grow stronger. First his friends and their odd ways then his eyes changing colors at an alarming rate, and now this.

But the small amount of fear which had been growing inside my chest died back down as I watched what happened next. From there they slowly blurred over. They stayed like that for no more then ten seconds. I expected him to blink a couple of times and be able to see but what happened next sparked the fear in my chest. This time though it grew higher and threatened me to loose my calm façade.

From his bottom eyelid a murky eyelid came up and cleared his eyes completely. It was almost as if his eyes had momentarily turned into that of a lizard so as to let him adapt to the sudden light change.

I gasped slightly. He seemed to notice and looked over to me, his brow creased in confusion. Oh, yeah. I was supposed to be human, my eyes were still supposed to be out of focus and I shouldn't have seen any of that. I shut my eyes and reopened them, blinking swiftly.

"It is really bright outside," I murmured looking away from the sun. When I looked back up at Yakov his scowl had twisted into an amused grin and he chuckled.

"You'll get used to it." He grabbed my shoulder and guided me through the crowds. He mentioned the shop names but nothing really caught my attention. My thoughts were focused on how awkward it was to have Yakov's hand placed on my shoulder. I didn't enjoy it at all but I didn't shake it off.

Briefly I heard him mention a library and I came back to the present. He was talking again but I spoke up.

"Library?" I questioned. My voice was slightly high pitched and I knew I looked like a small child on Christmas **(AN: It could also be a birthday or Chanukah. Don't want to offend anybody.) **

Yakov stopped his rambling and turned me to face him. He laughed heartily, "Yes it is right over here." He guided me towards a building and threw open a small door. It was difficult to fight our way in through the crowd on the streets.

I hadn't been very far from my apartment before this. The streets even deeper into the downtown area were even more crowded and smelled of sweat. There were many other scents in the downtown of animals and spices from market place. It was quite overwhelming. When we got into the small building it smelled very clean, as if people were constantly trying to be rid of the smell outside by using enough cleaning products inside. I almost gagged but remembered Yakov and instead held my breath.

We seemed to be on a small landing. There was a staircase going down and one going up, all the floor was covered in a cheap yellow tile. Yakov guided me up the stairs to the end of the staircase. He opened a glass door.

Inside there was a small desk sitting directly in front of the door. There was a large, very old computer sitting on the desk. The shelves were short and very close together. It looked like a library in a small school. I ran to the first shelf and began to scan through titles of books. Yakov chuckled and I looked up to see him watching me. I smiled at him and he smiled back. I turned back to the shelf and randomly picked out a book. I flipped it open and scanned over the pages, even though I wasn't paying attention to the book at all. Yakov was watching me; thankfully he was concentrating on my face. My eyes looked up and I caught him off guard he looked startled but then smirked and turned to one of the aisles of books. My eyes followed him until he had disappeared into the vast amount of books.

We had been at the library quite awhile; each of us had been wrapped up in our own books. It seemed as though we were the only ones in the small library, but I liked it that way. No people to gawk at my inhuman features.

I had been unknowingly searching until the idea crossed my mind that I was looking for something familiar, something that held a certain amount of comfort.

"Hey Iz!" Yakov spoke at normal conversation level but it seemed as though he was shouting because of the long still silence that had graced us for what seemed like hours. I walked towards his voice, peeking around each corner and looking down the aisles on both of my sides. I turned around yet another and almost fell over. I bumped right into Yakov and he caught my waist as I stumbled backwards.

"Sorry." He chuckled, not letting go of my waist. He was staring at my face and his eyes darted back down to my lips. For a moment I thought he was going to try and kiss me. But I cleared my throat. He looked back up at my eyes and I raised my eyebrows.

He blinked a couple of time and slowly unwound his arm from my waist. "Sorry," he said again, brushing his hands on his pants, and looking down awkwardly.

"You weren't going to kiss me were you?" I asked my eyebrows still rose, questioning him. He looked up at me, his hands still on his legs.

"No, I am not _that _interested." He replied looking slyly at me.

You know that old saying that says that the more uninterested you seem the more interested the one your interested in will be interested in you? If you follow. Pretty much if you act uninterested the person you want to be interested will become interested. Well, I was thinking that maybe that was exactly what Yakov was trying to do now. And it was working. **(AN: I was going to end it here but then the next chapter would be less then a half a page long, even though it was the perfect ending.)**

"So . . . why'd you call me over?" I questioned, rocking back and forth on my heels.

"Oh, yeah. Well I found one of my favorite books. I was going to hand it over to you so you could read it." He said, smiling.

He handed me a book and I immediately opened it up without looking at it. I scanned over the first couple of words. Yakov's smiling eyes were following me, awaiting my reaction. He was waiting for praise or a smile but instead, he got something very different.

**Hey friends! Sorry I have not updated in so long. This is the author who's friend said she was not going to write any more. Now it is in role reversal. What book do you guys think it is? If you get it right I will tell you. Also, any guesses on Yakov I will give a no, unless you guess right. I might give you a maybe then. IF I DON'T GET 5 REVIEWS OR MORE I WILL WAIT A VERY LONG TIME TO POST THE ALREADY WRITTEN NEXT CHAPTER.**


	12. Secrets

**Disclaimer: Do not own Twilight. **

**Chapter 11**

The book fell to the tiled floor with a loud bang. Yakov jumped in surprise and his frightened eyes looked up at me. But I could barely tell.

As soon as I had read that name I had lost all control. I could feel my breathing begin to accelerate as I started to hyperventilate. **(AN: That rhymes! Kinda.) **My knees began to buckle and I slid to the floor, my head resting against the book shelf.

"_Edward,_" It had said. The hole in my chest began to rip slowly but almost more painfully then ever. Yakov cautiously approached me. I would be scared too. My appearance must have been quite frightening, lying on the floor, breathing erratic, and I was sure that my eyes were coal black.

Yakov slowly leaned down to my level and looked me in the eye.

"Izzy," He whispered, "What happened?" His eyes were questioning, he obviously had no idea what had caused my reaction. He picked up the book and scanned over the page he knew I had been on. When he did not find anything odd or frightening in any way, he held the book out to me. My eyes widened as I stared at the page. That one word seemed to beckon me, allowing me to see no other words. I let my hand instantly travel to that one word, and I gently touched the spot where it lay.

"Edward?" He questioned.

I closed my eyes and doubled over in pain as the wound ignited into a wild flame, licking at my insides. I moaned as I lay clutching my waist. Yakov grabbed me around the waist and gently hoisted me to my feet.

From there he guided me through the rest of the library, down the stairs, and out into the busy street. I suppose it was like New York. No one was really concerned about anybody else; they just tried to get to their destination as quickly as possible. Yakov slowly brought one of my arms up to his shoulders.

Yakov removed one of his arms from waist and placed it across my shoulders. He guided me through the crowd back towards the coffee shop and my apartment. Then he brought me through the door and up the stairs. He stopped at my door and shifted me so that one arm was still around my waist and I was leaning into his shoulder. He grabbed a string of kings from his pocket, which clanged together horribly, and brought forth a key which he unlocked my door with.

Yakov dragged me inside and brought me to my bed and lay me down. I was no longer clutching my waist but my breathing was still unreliable. Yakov sat back and watched me as I slowly curled into a ball, hiding my face in my knees.

As my breathing slowed and I began to calm down, Yakov decided to speak.

"Who is Ed-." I cut him off; I didn't want the flame to be brought back to life, instead of slowly dieing down which it was currently doing.

"Don't say his name," I muttered and pushed my face further into my knees.

"Who is he? Or do you just have a phobia of that name?" There was a smile in his voice and I looked up to see a small smile adorning his face. I couldn't help but smile back a little.

"He is- or was, my well, I guess he was my fiancé. But . . . we were more then that. We were . . . in love. And it wasn't just fake teenage love; it was the real, once in a life time, soul mate type love." I knew I was smiling now, remembering all the good times we had shared together; the meadow stuck most clearly in my mind. Out of the corner of my mind I could see Yakov smiling sadly.

"What happened?" He asked softly. I rolled over with my back facing him; I didn't want to see him while I explained this.

"I- I made a decision for, um, for my life which he thought was, well wrong. It was so that we could be together, he knew my decision yet he didn't except it. I followed through with my decision and was extremely happy with the results. Yet, he ignored the fact that then we could really be together and instead wallowed in his grief that I had made the wrong decisions. So . . . I left. I couldn't take it anymore. If he was going to act like that fo-for the rest of our lives then I might as well just be on my own. And I went as far away and in the least likely place I could think of which happened to be here."

"It wasn't an illegal decision was it?" Yakov asked cautiously. Maybe he thought he was dealing with a druggy or serial killer or some crazy thing. I chuckled at the idea and rolled back over. Yakov was staring at me inquisitively.

"No," I laughed, "It defiantly wasn't an illegal decision." Well, maybe if people knew about being changed into vicious, bloodsucking, vampires they might make it illegal. I smiled at the thought.

"Then what was it?" I was brought back by Yakov's voice. As I stared at him I could see the wheels in his head turning. Somehow, he must have noticed inhuman things about me, like I had in him, and was trying to get the truth out of me. I knew he wasn't stupid but maybe I underestimated him.

"You aren't going to figure it out that easily." I whispered. A normal human would not have been able to hear me but Yakov answered me.

"Well, I will figure you out soon Izzy." I watched him and smirked. His senses, or at least his hearing was stronger then what it should be.

"Ah, so you did hear me." My smirk grew bigger as his eyes slowly widened, realizing that I had been testing him. "Yakov, I am also going to figure _you_ out soon. I am not stupid, to say the least, but if you don't want me to know you might want to try a little bit harder." I was still smirking and chuckled as I watched his face turn into a sulk. He looked like a small child that was disobeying his parents.

"You should try a bit harder too Izzy." He was trying to put it all on me, take the pressure off himself.

"Who said that I was trying to keep my secret from you?" I questioned. After a slight silence I hopped from where I lay on the bed and walked out my front door and through the halls to the coffee shop with Yakov on my heels.

**Yay! Sorry I haven't posted forever, this chapter has been ready for a long time. I got a job, and went on trips and then got sick. My intentions were to update a lot. I should have more time for the next couple days though and now that the story is heating up I think I will be updating more. Author 2 is on a trip. Keep reviewing and I will keep writing.**


	13. Information

Disclaimer: We do not own twilight.

Chapter 12

Things began to regulate. I started to become accustomed to my daily shift in the coffee shop, as well as the regulars, including the two boys who I had met earlier, Gabe and Kahn.

They showed up almost daily. It was rare when they would skip the coffee shop on their every day agenda. Occasionally, Kahn would show up alone, but Gabe never showed up solo. Gabe was colder, defiantly not very friendly. Although he contrasted so greatly with both Kahn and Yakov somehow they all got along wonderfully; there were few arguments among them.

I began to notice that there were a few touchy subjects, such as Yakov being so friendly towards me and trying to include me regularly. Kahn seemed to have the same mind set as Yakov, but he was a bit less sarcastic, he seemed a bit less witty as well.

Yakov and Kahn always laughed and poked fun at each other like an old married couple, but Gabe didn't seem as comfortable with them.

I started to become curious and soon found out from Yakov, after a bit of questioning, that Yakov and Kahn's parents had known each other forever. I also found out that they Yakov were somehow related to Kahn, that their family was very old-fashioned so there was a bit of cousin marries cousin things going on there.

Gabe on the other hand, was not in the large, over bred family and there fore had a few problems of feeling like he didn't belong. That was as much as Yakov would tell me about Gabe though; he told me that if I wanted to know more I would have to ask Gabe himself.

One day, after most of the customers had left, except for a few regulars, the bell on the door rang, signaling that a new customer had wandered inside. Before I could bring my head up from my magazine to see who it was, I was greeted with a booming "Hey Izzy!" which immediately alerted me that Kahn had entered the coffee shop.

Kahn sat down directly in front of me and Gabe, who I had not seen walking in, sat a couple of stools down from him at the counter.

"Hey Kahn, Gabe! Watcha' guys doing here?" I turned around to see Yakov coming in through the door which led to the apartments.

"Nothin' much, we just came to check on you guys. You know make sure nothing exciting was going on, that nothing new had happened . . ." Kahn trailed off, waiting to see if Yakov had any news to report.

"Nope, nothing of any importance, well at least not that I know of. Izzy?" Yakov's glaze shifted over to me, questioning.

"Well, it's Honey's second birthday next week, so I'm sure you will hear from Olive about that."

"Oh, she is so cute!" Kahn exclaimed. Kahn had a special bond with Honey, and from eavesdropping I began to pick up bits of pieces of conversations that made it sound as though Olive was included in Yakov's old-fashioned family. I would have been positive that Olive belonged to the family if it wasn't for the fact that I knew Olive was born in Holland and she looked nothing alike Yakov and Kahn.

While I had been thinking about this, Yakov and Kahn had started there own conversation about how the analog clock in the coffee shop that did not seem to be working which turned into the mechanic of an analog clock, which led to other things that I was unable to follow. Well they went off on their tirade, and started to observe Gabe.

He was watching Kahn and Yakov with a very solemn face, which almost bordered on a frown. There were a couple of times when Yakov or Kahn would ask him a question to try and involve him in their conversation, but every time Gabe would give them a very simple answer in a voice that clearly stated that he did not want to be involved.

"Why are you so distant?" I wondered out loud. That may have been a bit impolite, but it wasn't like he had been very nice to me either.

He glared at me for a bit before turning his head again to watch Yakov and Kahn argue a bit more.

"Because I don't belong with them he stated." It sounded as though he was done talking, so I opened my mouth to ask him a more specific question but he interrupted me. "Isabella, I know that Yakov has told you that he and Kahn are related and have a very, a very _close knit_ family. I, on the other hand am a bit different. What Yakov may have failed to tell you is that the, the_ society_ which we live in has a very different way of running then what you would expect. Yakov and Kahn are from a very_ wealthy_ family, where as I am from a much lower-class family, which in our society, normally means that I cannot speak to them, look at them, or associate with them in any way."

It was the most I had every heard him say, and the most information I had ever been given by any of the boys. Gabe continued to stare out into space at nothing in particular after he finished talking.

"Then why are with them now? Why aren't you guys like, on the run or something?" I questioned. I may have been over exaggerating but I couldn't tell if it was something that serious or not, I wouldn't know unless they decided to divulge in me.

Gabe hesitated before answering; you could tell he was trying to figure out a way to answer the question. I was surprised that he was even considering answering.

"Yakov, Kahn, and I are more similar then our society would like." He struggled with his answer.

"Which allows you to be with them?"

"Which forces me to be with them."

**Yay! Okay, I am sorry again, but I had this whole long chapter already to post but I had already written this one so everything got all confusing. But we are totally inspired now! Before I will admit we had a bit of writers block, or at least I did, which was part of the reason why we didn't post for so long. Anyways, keep reviewing! Sorry it took us so long!**


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